Blasting-shield



(No Model.)

M. J. MAGUIRE.

BLASTING SHIELD.

Patented Oct UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MATTHEW J. MAGUIRE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

BLASTING-SHIELD.

`SPECIFICATION forming part'of Letters Patent No. 547,172, dated October1, 1895.

Application tiled June 10, 1895. Serial No. 552,211. (No modell) To allwhom it may concern.-

Be it known that LMATTHEW J. MAGUIRE, of Boston, county of Suifolk,State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Blast Coniinersor Shields, of which the following description, in connection with theaccompanying drawings, is a specificatiomlike letters on the drawingsrepresenting like parts.

In blasting rock and other refractory material it is usual to pile heavylogs, sometimes chained together, over the mouths of the holes after thelatter are charged in order to preventthe force of the explosion fromscattering.

bits of rock and dbris about. -This is cumbersome and inconvenient, andfrequently the force of the blast will separate the protecting materialand scatter bits of rock around, with great danger to persons orproperty in the vicinity, and if the charge blows out the wood isgenerally splintered and o'ften set on tire.

This invention has for its object the production of a blast coniner orshield of compact yet elastic nature, which may be readily transportedfrom one place to another, as needed, and which will effectively protectsurrounding objects from flying dbris. v

Figure l is a perspective View of a blast conner or shield embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 is a similar View of a .modified form of confiner tobe described; and-Fig. 3, in elevation and section, represents myinvention in position ready for use.

In constructing my improved confiner or shield I take a quantity ofscrap wire, the more interlaced and twisted or tangled the better, andcompress it by suitable power in a mold or die into preferably asubstantiallyrectangular mat, as at a, Fig. l. For use in quarries orwhere a large amount of blasting is being done the thickness of thecompressed mass or mat may be about eighteen inches and about six feetwide by eight feet long and weighing in the neighborhood of two thousandpounds, the amount of compression determining the density of the mat. Tomaintain the shape of the compressed mat of wire I preferably placeretaining-,ban ds b of strap-iron about it, which will preventdistortion to any great extent when in use.

For convenience in transporting from place to place I partially embed inthe mass of wire a loop c of wire cable or chain prior to compression,and the hook of a tackle may be in'- serted in the loop to move theconfiner from l covering the mouth of the hole or holes, and

the blast tired. The weight of the confineris amply sufcient to preventany scattering of rocks, &c., as it will be lifted from the ground but afew inches by the force of the blast, and the elasticity inherent in theinterlaced and compres/sed mass of wire prevents its distortion orbreakage.

Owing to the porous nature, as it were, of the confiner the gases canreadily escape, and in event of a charge blowing out the products ofcombustion pass readily therethrough.'

I thus obtain a cheap, compact, and efficient confiner or shield, readyfor instant use at all times, easily transportable and very tenaciousand elastic in its nature, and consequently possessing great durability.

The conner may be of any convenient shape and size, according to thenature of the Work being done, and it is particularly useful in blastingtrenches, as one or more of the coniners can be lowered into the trenchright over the charges and after the blast can be lifted out of vthe waywith no loss of time.

I claiml. A blast continer or shield, consisting of a mat of interlacedand compressed wire, and metallic retaining bands therefor,substantially as described.

2. A blast coniiner or shield, consisting of a mat of interlaced andcompressed wire, metallic retaining bands therefor, and a lifting looppartially embedded in the compressed mass, substantially as described.

8. A blast confiner or shield, consisting of a mat of interlaced andcompressed wire, and

one or more lifting loops partially embedded in the compressed mass,substantially as described.

v 4. An elastic blast confiner or shield, con- 5 sisting oa mat ofinterlaced and. compressed wire, and lifting loop secured thereto,substantially as described.

MATTHEW J. MAGUIRE. Witnesses:

JOHN C. EDWARDS, AUGUSTA E. DET/LN.

